Something about the Rockies wilderness brings out the best in people, and the worst.

Those who want to experience the outdoors with respect are exhilarated by its beauty, plant and animal diversity and sometimes serenity. They try to leave it as they found it. The extremists would go so far as to believe man’s foot should not touch it.

But a small but growing group that seems to see it as a free-for-all, anything-goes, no-rules haven for over-indulgence could wreck it for the rest of us.

“It’s kind of the wild west mentality, particularly weekends,” says Andrew Gustavson, a Fish and Wildlife Officer in Blairmore.

“They seem to believe that because they’re on holidays, there are no rules, that ‘I’m out in the forest, I can do whatever I want.’ A lot of them wouldn’t act like that at home in the city.”

He recalls stopping a guy in the upper Oldman area one weekend riding his dirt bike down the road.

“He worked at a bank. He had been drinking. When he got stopped, he was mortified that he might lose his job,” says Andrew.

At times, it’s overwhelming.

“I was writing a ticket for a guy on a quad and 15 others drove past and I’m asked, ‘Why don’t you give them a ticket?’ There just isn’t enough presence to deal with it all.

Andrew is one of three wildlife officers for the entire Blairmore area covering the Castle and Upper Oldman River regions. They’ll be down to two when one retires and with the province’s hiring freeze, the situation could become even more desperate.

Wildlife officers deal with people drinking or on drugs, anglers who violate any number of fishing regulations, poachers, and quadders and dirt bikers who continue to break the rules, among other problem people.

“Like the three we caught riding circles in a Carbondale River pool and the guy washing his quad in Lynx Creek. It’s pure ignorance that costs a $287 fine,” says Andrew.

Ignorance or blatant disregard for the rules might explain a growing number of fishermen this summer killing bull trout, an offence that can land the violator in court.

“I told one young fisherman I found in a random camp with bull trout in a bag that a judge had fined a person $1,500 for the same offence. He was happy to walk away with a $400 fine and the bull trout seized,” says Jeff Cox, in his second summer as a Stream Watch seasonal enforcement officer.

This summer in the Upper Oldman-Livingston area, he increased the number of contacts but saw a decrease in violations and attributes that to his presence. When people know he’s there, they tend to comply more with regulations.

But this summer, he spent time in the Castle drainage and found very low compliance to regulations and the number of users “through the roof.”

The rules are in place, but legislation could be tightened and enforcement given a higher priority to deal the growing pressure on the area.

Otherwise, a wilderness that belongs to all of us is at risk of being taken over by the wild bunch.

Says Andrew: “Education is important, but some need a big stick.”